Asian Fans Fear ‘The White Lotus’ New Location Will Lead To Superficial Depictions Of Eastern Faith

Some Asian Americans are raising eyebrows after it was announced that the third season of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus” would be set in Thailand.

The previous two seasons, set in Hawaii and Italy, follow a group of wealthy white families as their vacations at local White Lotus resorts turn into mayhem and murder. Mike White, creator and director of the series, hinted at the season three premise after the season two finale.

“Season one was all about the money, then season two was the sex,” White said in the clip. “I think maybe the third season would be a fun, satirical look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. I feel like it could be a rich tapestry to take another turn at White Lotus.

Fans say they are already worried about how this focus on Eastern culture might play out, pointing out that creatives from Southeast Asia should be involved.

“So Thai writers are involved? ” a person tweeted.

Representatives for White and HBO did not respond to requests for comment from NBC News.

After many criticized the first season of ‘The White Lotus’ as a superficial depiction of the native Hawaiians who lived and worked on the resort islands, viewers say they fear a similar myopia will follow with the characters’ stories. Asians in season three.

“I’m a little suspicious that White Lotus S3 is in Thailand since S1 dropped the ball so much in terms of talking about racism and imperialism in Hawaii (bc it was written by white people),” a other viewer tweeted in response to the news.

Some of the audience did not seem to appreciate the fact that the issue of American colonialism in Hawaii was barely explored in depth and the storylines of the Native characters were treated as endless storylines. With the Season 2 setting in Italy, that wasn’t really a problem, said one fan, because “they just focused on class and tourism, which is their forte.”